Alabama Campaign Contribution Cap Ends Thursday

Corporations can make unlimited contributions to Alabama candidates for state and local offices starting Thursday.

Credit 401K(2013) / Flickr

Starting Thursday, corporations can make unlimited contributions to Alabama candidates for state and local offices.

The Legislature passed a law to remove the $500 limit on corporate campaign contributions. A proponent of the law, Republican Rep. Mike Ball of Huntsville, said the cap didn't mean much because an attorney general's opinion allowed corporations to give $500 to a political action committee for every election in Alabama in one year. That meant a corporation could give several thousand dollars to a PAC, and it could give to multiple PACs.

He said the new law makes the contributions more transparent and easier to trace.

Montgomery lobbyist Bob Geddie, who operates several PACs, said he initially thought the law might lead to more corporate contributions, but he's seen no indication of major changes.